Crestone Needle

A buddy shouldered mule duty when he climbed Crestone Needle, Crestone Peak, Columbia Point, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point and Mount Adams on the first Wednesday in July, leaving Barlow on the eastern flank of the Sangre de Christos around 2 a.m. and then shuttling the bike around to the north end of the San Luis Valley.

The Crestone Needle is one of the state’s hardest 14ers to climb.